Mine Roof and Rib Support with Vertical Bolt

ABSTRACT

A mine roof and rib support device comprising a support member, a roof support arm, a rib support arm, a bearing plate and a mine roof bolt. The roof support arm is provided at an angle to the rib support arm and comprises at least one aperture therethrough. The bearing plate comprises an upper edge and a lower edge and a through-hole defined therethrough. The upper and lower edges of the bearing plate can be positioned in abutment with the roof and rib support arms, respectively, with the through-hole being aligned with the aperture through the support member. The mine roof bolt extends through the through-hole of the bearing plate and the aperture of the roof support arm, thereby pressing the bearing plate against the support member. The upper edge exerts a force against the roof support arm and the lower edge exerts a force against the rib support arm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The support member relates generally to mine surface control, and more particularly to a mine roof and rib support with a roof support arm and a rib support arm which simultaneously support the mine roof and mine rib.

Mine roof and rib supports are commonly used in underground mining, excavating, and tunneling operations to support and control the overhead and lateral rock strata. In one conventional mine surface control system, a series of bore holes can be drilled into the mine roof or rib; a mine roof bolt can be installed in the bore hole; a channel, bearing plate, or mat can be positioned between the end of the mine roof bolt; and the mine roof or rib, and the mine roof bolt can be anchored in the bore hole and tensioned such that the mine roof bolt and channel, bearing plate, or mat exert a compressive force upon the mine roof and rib to prevent deterioration of the overhead and lateral rock strata.

2. Description of Related Art

Some examples of mine roof and rib support systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,405 to Galis entitled “Mine Roof Truss Assembly and Associated Method”; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,385,433; 5,202,209; and RE 35,902 to Calandra, Jr. et al. entitled “Bearing Plate’; U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,348 to Seegmiller entitled “Truss Systems, Components, and Methods for Trussing Arched Mine Roofs”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,266 to Seegmiller entitled “Structure and Method for Deterring Cuter Roof Failure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,974 to Sherman entitled “Roof Support System for a Mine and Method for Providing the Same”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the mine roof and rib support device may comprise a support member having a front surface and a back surface, a base portion, a roof support arm, a rib support arm, a bearing plate and a mine roof bolt. The roof support arm is provided at an angle to the rib support arm and comprises at least one aperture therethrough. The bearing plate may comprise an upper edge and a lower edge and a through-hole defined therethrough positioned between the upper and lower edges. The upper and lower edges of the bearing plate can be positioned in abutment with the roof and rib support arms, respectively, with the through-hole being aligned with the aperture through the support member. The mine roof bolt extends through the through-hole of the bearing plate and the aperture of the roof support arm. The mine roof bolt compresses the bearing plate against the support member, such that the upper edge exerts a force against the roof support arm and the lower edge exerts a force against the rib support arm. The mine roof bolt may extend vertically through the through-hole and the aperture of the roof support arm. The roof support arm may alternatively comprise a second aperture for receiving a second mine roof bolt. The angle between the roof and rib support arms can generally be about 90 degrees to generally correspond to usual angles between the mine roof and the mine rib, but the angle can be different if needed.

The bearing plate may comprise side edges that are longer than the upper and lower edges and may further comprise a loop shaped embossment that surrounds the through-hole. In this embodiment, the through-hole may be off-centered, located at a position on the bearing plate that is closer to the upper edge of the bearing plate than the lower edge.

In another embodiment, the support member can further comprise a reinforcement portion that extends from the base portion. The reinforcement portion may take the form of an embossment extending from the front surface of the support member. The support member may further comprise a longitudinal flange edge portion extending angularly away from the base portion and terminating in edges. The upper and lower edges of the bearing plate may then be positioned in abutment with the longitudinal flange edge portions and/or the reinforcement portion of the support member. Further, the aperture of the roof support arm of the support member may be defined in the elongated reinforcement portion. A flange may be provided on one, or both, of the roof support arm and the rib support arm, wherein the flange extends angularly away from the front surface toward the back surface of the support member, toward the mine roof and/or rib, respectively. The flanges can be bent from the distal ends of each of the roof and rib support arms to hold the mesh that can commonly be provided between the support arm and the mine roof and/or rib.

The mine roof bolt, or tensioning nut, can be torqued against the bearing plate such that the upper and lower edges of the bearing plate simultaneously exert force on each of the roof support arm and the rib support arm.

One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of supporting a rock formation. A support member having a roof support arm and a rib support arm is provided, and the roof support arm is positioned against a mine roof surface and the rib support arm is positioned against the mine rib surface. A bearing plate is positioned against the support member. The bearing plate has an upper edge, a lower edge and a through-hole. The bearing plate is positioned such that the through-hole is aligned with an aperture in the roof support arm. A mine roof bolt is extended through the through-hole and the aperture in the roof support arm to engage the mine roof surface. The bearing plate is compressed against the support member such that the upper edge of the bearing plate is positioned in abutment with the roof support arm and the lower edge of the bearing plate is positioned in abutment with the rib support arm. Compressing the bearing plate against the support member may comprise torquing the mine roof bolt against the bearing plate. The mine roof bolt may be vertically extended through the through-hole and aperture. The support member may be provided by bending a support member to form the roof support arm at an angle to the rib support arm. The angle may be 90 degrees.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a mine and roof rib support system comprising a front surface and a back surface, a base portion, a roof support arm and a rib support arm. The roof support arm is provided at an angle to the rib support arm and comprises a first aperture and a second aperture defined therethrough. The system comprises a bearing plate comprising an upper edge and a lower edge and defining a through-hole therethrough positioned between the upper and lower edges. The upper and lower edges of the bearing plate can be positioned in abutment with the roof and rib support arms, respectively, with the through-hole being aligned with the aperture through the support member. A first mine roof bolt extends through the through-hole of the bearing plate and the first aperture of the roof support arm. The mine roof bolt compresses the bearing plate against the support member, such that the upper edge exerts a force against the roof support arm and the lower edge exerts a force against the rib support arm. The system includes a second support member comprising a front surface and a back surface and defining an aperture for receiving a mine roof bolt. The first support member receives the second support member with the aperture of the second support member being aligned with the second roof support arm aperture. A second mine roof bolt extends through the second support member aperture and the second roof support arm aperture. The mine roof bolts may extend vertically through their respective apertures and/or the bearing plate through-hole. The system may further comprise a mine rib bolt for extending through an aperture defined through the rib support arm.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the mine roof and rib support device are described in the following description and drawing figures. These aspects may be indicative of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the mine roof and rib support device may be employed, and which is intended to include all such aspects and any equivalents thereof. Other advantages and features of the mine roof and rib support may become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the mine roof and rib support can be obtained by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a mine roof and rib support device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a support member of the mine roof and rib support device;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating embodiments of mine roof and rib support devices installed at the intersection of the mine roof and opposite sides/ribs of a mine work area;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of an embodiment of a mine roof and rib support device;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the support member shown in FIG. 2 taken at line A-A;

FIG. 6 is a sectional top view of the roof support arm of the support member;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the support member;

FIG. 8 is a front view of an embodiment of a bearing plate of the mine roof and rib support device; and

FIG. 9. is a perspective view of an alternative mine roof and rib support system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, the term “upwardly” shall refer to a direction with respect to a mine passageway which is oriented generally along the direction extending from the mine floor to the mine roof, the term “downwardly” shall refer to a direction with respect to a mine passageway which is oriented generally along the direction extending from the mine roof to the mine floor, the term “outwardly” shall refer to an orientation generally in transverse direction extending from the walls of the passageway to the mine passageway central longitudinal axis, and the term “inwardly” shall refer to an orientation generally in transverse direction extending from the central longitudinal axis of the mine passageway to the walls of the passageway.

Referring now to the figures in which like reference numbers refer to like elements, a perspective view of an embodiment of a mine roof and rib support device 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, which can generally comprise a support member 15 having a roof support arm 20 and a rib support arm 25, wherein the roof support arm 20 is provided at an angle to the rib support arm 25, and an aperture 30 (as illustrated best in FIG. 4) through the support member 15 for receiving a mine roof bolt 35, the aperture 30 located on the roof support arm 20. The support member 15 can further comprise a flange 45 provided on one or both of the roof support arm 20 and the rib support arm 25, wherein the flange 45 projects toward a mine roof 50 or rib 55. In a further embodiment, flanges 45, 47 are provided at distal ends 60, 65 of both the roof support arm 20 and the rib support arm 25. Also, the mine roof support arm 20 may optionally comprise a second aperture 32 for receiving a second mine roof bolt 38, and the rib support arm 25 may comprise an aperture 36 for receiving a mine rib bolt 37, as shown in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 3, the angle θ between the roof 20 and rib 25 support arms can generally, for example, be about 90 degrees, since the angle α between the mine roof 50 and mine rib 55 is typically about 90 degrees. However, the angle θ between the arms 20, 25 can vary as needed, or desired, depending upon the angle between the mine roof 50 and the rib 55. Moreover, the angle α between the mine roof 50 and rib 55 may not be exactly 90 degrees, and the mine roof 50 and/or rib 55 may likely not be perfectly flat. Thus, embodiments of the support member 15 can be sufficiently flexible to compensate for variations in the angle α of the roof 50 and rib 55, and/or variations due to non-planar surfaces of the roof 50 and/or rib 55.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, the flanges 45, 47 at the ends of the roof and rib support arms 20, 25 can be bent from the distal ends 60, 65 of each of the roof and rib support arms 20, 25. In particular, for example, portions of the distal ends 60, 65 of each arm 20, 25 can be cut away to leave a tab, or extension, which can be bent outwardly, away from the back of the channel, i.e., towards the mine roof and rib 50, 55, to form the flanges 45, 47. The flanges 45, 47 hold a mat, e.g., a metal mesh 70, in cases where such mesh 70 is used in combination with the roof support arm 20 and/or rib support arm 25. The mesh 70 may be positioned behind roof and/or rib support arms 20, 25 and over flanges 45, 47 in order to hold mesh 70 against the roof 50 and/or rib 55.

Support member 15 may further include, for example, a base portion 90 having a front surface 92 and a back surface 94. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5-7, integrally formed longitudinal flanges 102, 104 extend from base portion 90 at an angle, for example, and terminate at respective edges 106, 108. Support member 15 further includes a reinforcement portion 110 extending from the base portion 90. Reinforcement portion 110 is illustrated as being positioned centrally on the support member 15 and comprising a general V-shape embossment, thereby forming a rib with aperture 30 defined therein. The height of reinforcement portion 110 may be approximately equal to the height of longitudinal flanges 102, 104.

The mine roof and rib support device 10 may further include a bearing plate 75, illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4 and 8, having an upper edge 80 and a lower edge 85, side edges 84, 86, and a through-hole 88 provided between the upper and lower edges 80, 85 through which the roof bolt 35 is installed. Bearing plate 75 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 as having a race track header plate configuration with an embossment 82 surrounding the through-hole 88, wherein the through-hole 88 is in an off-centered position, i.e., located closer to the upper edge 80 of the bearing plate 75 than the lower edge 85 of the bearing plate 75. The bearing plate 75 may alternatively comprise a pair of secondary embossments 83, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8. The bearing plate 75, such as illustrated in FIG. 8 and described above, may be a commercially available race track header plate with a pre-existing hole 87. Hole 87 may operate as a through-hole, or, alternatively, a second through-hole 88 may be drilled through bearing plate 75 in any desirable position. The bearing plate 75 may be positioned adjacent the support member 15 such that the upper and lower edges 80, 85 of the bearing plate 75 are positioned in abutment with the roof and rib support arms 20, 25, respectively. The upper and lower edges 80, 85 may, for example, abut longitudinal flanges 102,104 and/or reinforcement portion 110. When the through-hole 88 in the bearing plate 75 is operatively aligned with the aperture 30 in the roof support arm 20 of support member 15 for installation of the roof bolt 35 therethrough, the upper and lower edges 80, 85 will apply force to the roof and rib support arms 20, 25, respectively, when force is applied to the bearing plate 75 during installation of the roof bolt 35. Roof support bolt 35 is installed substantially vertically into the mine roof 50 through through-hole 88 and aperture 30. By substantially vertical it is meant that the roof bolt 35 extends into the mine roof 50, generally perpendicular to the mine roof 50 at the point wherein roof bolt 35 is installed. It should be understood that mine roof 50 may be uneven or somewhat sloping, such that roof bolt 35 may not be parallel to rib 55 or perpendicular to all points along mine roof 50. When the mine roof bolt 35 is torqued against the outer surface of the bearing plate 75, a vertical compressive load at arrow 130 is applied to the bearing plate 75, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The vertical compressive load at 130 is distributed throughout the upper and lower edges 80, 85 of the bearing plate 75 in both vertical and horizontal directions. The compressive load at 130 is transmitted from the edges 80, 85 of the bearing plate 75 to the roof support arm 20 and the rib support arm 25, respectively, to compress the support arms 20, 25 against the roof 50 and rib 55 of the mine tunnel. The compressive forces cause the roof support arm 20 and the rib support arm 25 to exert pressure against the mine roof 50 and mine rib 55, respectively.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates how the mine roof and rib support device 10 may be installed at each side of the mine tunnel. Because the bearing plate 75 can distribute the force from the roof bolt 35 to each of the roof and rib support arms 20, 25 via the upper and lower edges 80, 85 of the bearing plate 75, respectively, a single roof bolt 35 can be used for each support member 15 to simultaneously provide support for both the mine roof 50 and the mine rib 55. The force vectors 120, 125 in FIG. 3 show the force created by torquing the roof bolt 35 against the bearing plate 75.

In one embodiment, for example, support member 15 is produced from an elongated member which is bent to form roof support arm 20 and rib support arm 25. The channel can be heated to facilitate the bending process. At the location of the bend 40, longitudinal flanges 102, 104 may become deformed as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate further details of the support member 15. The support member 15 may be made from a metal channel having a cross-section as illustrated in FIG. 5. The metal channel can be bent to form each of the roof and rib support arms 20, 25. Each arm 20, 25 can generally be the same length, but each arm 20, 25 could have a different length if desired. The bearing plate 75 will provide the support, similar to a brace, to resist movement of the roof and rib support arms 20, 25 towards each other subsequent to installation of the roof bolt 35.

The support member 15 may be configured to be stackable for ease of transport by including the angled longitudinal flanges 102, 104. The front surface 92 of one support member 15 may receive at least a portion of a back surface 94 of another support member 15. While the entire front surface 92 of one support member 15 may not completely receive the entire back surface 94 of another support member 15, the support members 15 may nest within each other, thereby reducing the overall footprint of multiple stacked support members 15 as compared to multiple unstackable support members 15.

The dimensions corresponding to the reference characters in FIGS. 5 through 7 can be, for example, as listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Dimensions Inches A   5⅜ B   ⅝ C   1⅜ D   6⅝ E 34 F  7 G 48 H 48

Referring to FIG. 9, a mine roof and rib support device 10 may be used along with an additional second support member 17, a second roof bolt 38, and a rib bolt 37. Support member 17 is a roof support having an aperture 33 defined therethrough. After installing support member 15, as discussed above, support member 17 may be placed on top of roof support arm 20 in an overlapping manner. The back surface of support member 17 may mirror front surface 92 of support member 15, thereby rendering support member 17 easily engageable by roof support arm 20. To overlap the support member 17 and roof support arm 20, the front surface of support member 17 may instead receive the back surface of the roof support arm 20. Aperture 33 may be operatively aligned with second aperture 32 of roof support arm 20, such that a second mine roof bolt 38 is received through apertures 32, 33, thereby providing additional support to mine roof 50 by compressing the second support member 17 and roof support arm 20 against the mine roof 50. One or more support members 17 with mine roof bolts 38 may be installed in an overlapping fashion and likewise engage an opposite roof support arm (not shown) of another mine roof and rib support device, or other structure, thereby spanning the roof 50. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 9, the mine rib support arm 25 of support member 15 may comprise an aperture 36 for receiving mine rib bolt 37 that extends therethrough for providing additional support mine rib 55 by compressing rib support arm 25 against the mine rib 55. Additional support members 17 with mine rib bolts 37 could be installed in an overlapping fashion with rib support arm 25 to further support mine rib 35.

The embodiments illustrated have shown an elongated structural support member 15 bent from a single length of material; however, alternatively, support member 15 could instead be two separate pieces of material which are, e.g., welded together.

What has been described above includes exemplary embodiments of a mine roof and rib support having a roof support arm and a rib support arm that can support both the roof and rib of the mine at the same time. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of this description, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that further combinations and permutations are possible in light of the overall teaching of this disclosure. Accordingly, the description provided herein is intended to be illustrative only, and should be considered to embrace any and all alterations, modifications, and/or variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A mine roof and rib support comprising: a support member comprising a front surface, a back surface, a base portion, a roof support arm, and a rib support arm, the roof support arm provided at an angle to the rib support arm, wherein the roof support arm defines an aperture for receiving a mine roof bolt; a bearing plate comprising an upper edge and a lower edge, the bearing plate defining a through-hole provided between the upper and lower edges, wherein the upper and lower plate edges are positioned in abutment with the roof and rib support arms, respectively, the through-hole being operatively aligned with the roof support arm aperture; and a mine roof bolt extending through the through-hole of the bearing plate and the roof support arm aperture, the mine roof bolt being configured to compress the bearing plate against the support member, wherein the upper edge exerts a force against the roof support arm and the lower edge exerts a force against the rib support arm.
 2. The mine roof and rib support of claim 1, wherein the bearing plate comprises two side edges, the side edges being longer than the upper edge and lower edge and extending between the upper and lower edges.
 3. The mine roof and rib support of claim 2, wherein the bearing plate comprises an embossment that surrounds the through-hole.
 4. The mine roof and rib support of claim 1, wherein the through-hole located at a position on the bearing plate that is closer to the upper edge of the bearing plate than the lower edge of the bearing plate.
 5. The mine roof and rib support of claim 3, wherein the through-hole is located at a position on the bearing plate that is closer to the upper edge of the bearing plate than the lower edge of the bearing plate.
 6. The mine roof and rib support of claim 1, wherein the mine roof bolt extends substantially vertically through the through-hole and the roof support arm aperture.
 7. The mine roof and rib support of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises an elongated reinforcement portion extending from the base portion.
 8. The mine roof and rib support of claim 7, wherein the upper and lower plate edges of the bearing plate are positioned in abutment with the reinforcement portion of the support member.
 9. The mine roof and rib support of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises longitudinal flange edge portions extending angularly away from the base portion and terminating in edges.
 10. The mine roof and rib support of claim 9, wherein the upper and lower plate edges of the bearing plate are positioned in abutment with the longitudinal flange edge portions of the support member.
 11. The mine roof and rib support of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises a second aperture on the roof support arm for receiving a second mine roof bolt.
 12. A method of supporting a rock formation comprising: providing a support member having a roof support arm and a rib support arm; positioning the support member against a rock formation having a mine roof surface and mine rib surface, wherein positioning the support member comprises positioning the roof support arm against the mine roof surface and positioning the rib support arm against the mine rib surface; positioning a bearing plate having an upper edge, a lower edge and a through-hole against the support member, aligning the through-hole with an aperture in the roof support arm; extending a mine roof bolt through the through-hole and the roof support arm aperture into engagement with the mine roof surface; and compressing the bearing plate such that the upper edge of said bearing plate is positioned in abutment with the roof support arm and the lower edge of the bearing plate is positioned in abutment with the rib support arm.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of extending a mine roof bolt comprises substantially vertically extending a mine roof bolt through the through-hole and the roof support arm aperture into engagement with the mine roof surface.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of compressing the bearing plate comprises torquing the mine roof bolt against the bearing plate.
 15. A mine roof and rib support system comprising: a first support member comprising a front surface, a back surface, a base portion, a roof support arm, and a rib support arm, the roof support arm provided at an angle to the rib support arm, wherein the roof support arm defines a first aperture and a second aperture for receiving mine roof bolts; a bearing plate comprising an upper edge and a lower edge, the bearing plate defining a through-hole provided between the upper and lower edges, wherein the upper and lower plate edges are positioned in abutment with the roof and rib support arms, respectively, the through-hole being operatively aligned with the first roof support arm aperture; a first mine roof bolt extending through the through-hole of the bearing plate and the first roof support arm aperture, the mine roof bolt being configured to compress the bearing plate against the support member, wherein the upper edge exerts a force against the roof support atm and the lower edge exerts a force against the rib support arm; a second support member comprising a front surface and a back surface and defining an aperture for receiving a mine roof bolt, the first support member receiving the second support member, the second support member aperture being aligned with the second roof support arm aperture; and a second mine roof bolt extending through the second support member aperture and the second roof support arm aperture.
 16. The mine roof and rib support system of claim 15, further comprising a mine rib bolt; wherein the rib support arm defines an aperture for receiving a mine rib bolt, and the mine rib bolt extends through the rib support arm aperture.
 17. The mine roof and rib support system of claim 15, wherein the through-hole is located at a position on the bearing plate that is closer to the upper edge of the bearing plate than the lower edge of the bearing plate.
 18. The mine roof and rib support system of claim 16, wherein the through-hole is located at a position on the bearing plate that is closer to the upper edge of the bearing plate than the lower edge of the bearing plate.
 19. The mine roof and rib support system of claim 15, wherein the first mine roof bolt extends substantially vertically through the through-hole and the first roof support arm aperture, and the second mine roof bolt extends substantially vertically through the second support member aperture and the second roof support arm aperture.
 20. The mine roof and rib support system of claim 16, wherein the first mine roof bolt extends substantially vertically through the through-hole and the first roof support arm aperture, and the second mine roof bolt extends substantially vertically through the second support member aperture and the second roof support arm aperture. 